But hey, don’t blame the kid too much. I mean he was pressed into service so much because the Beavers rushed for only 74 yards with a running game that stalled due to a combination of limited blocking and not enough attempts.

With a performance like that, it didn’t help the Beavers offense that already ranks near the bottom of the Pac-12 in several areas and are 10th in running offense (106.0 ypg), 10th in total offense (385.7 ypg), last in pass efficiency (108.5 rating) and last in scoring offense (16.8 ppg).

Bu t the agony doesn’t end there, as the defense also ranks near the bottom of the conference in several areas: 11th in pass efficiency defense (161.4 rating), 10th in scoring defense (31.5 ppg) and last in punting (33.9 average).

Upcoming Game

The Wildcats just finished a brutal stretch of games that if they could have displayed a little better defense, may have come out of it a little better than 1-4.

The Beavers are having a tough go of it this year, and are still looking for their first win after falling to Arizona State last weekend in Tempe. You have to applaud Oregon State for its efforts, as they did get out to 13-0 start against ASU, but then things just fell apart.

Saturday’s home game against Arizona is a day removed from the one-year anniversary of James Rodgers’ knee injury at Arizona. That’s where the season and the program took a turn.

The Beavers won the game against the then-No. 9 Wildcats, but are 2-9 since then.

NWSB Player Recognitions

Markus Wheaton’s 11-catch performance against AUS moved him to second in the Pac-12 Conference and tied for 11th nationally with an average of 8.0 receptions a game. He’s fourth in the Pac-12 in receiving yards with 97.5 a game.

State Of The Beavers

Jordan Poyer is tied for first in the Pac-12 in interceptions after getting two in Tempe on Saturday. He’s also third in the Pac-12 and eighth nationally in punt return average (17.5).

Kevin Unga tackled seven Sun Devils to keep him tied for first with Utah’s Chaz Walker in the conference with an average of 9.5 tackles per game.

Finally, freshman Scott Cricthon leads the Pac-12 and is tied for ninth in the nation with 1.8 tackles for loss per game.

Infirmary Report

According to head coach Mike Riley, starting running back Malcolm Agnew who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury, will need to make it through a full week of practice before he’ll be ready to play. Until then he is listed as doubtful for the upcoming game against Arizona.

Starting offensive guard Josh Andrews (knee) returned to practice for the first time since he was injured Sept. 10 at Wisconsin.

Reserve receiver Micah Hatfield (hand) is being worked back in as a backup and on special teams.

Gossip

The Beavers added Weber State of the Football Championship Subdivision’s Big Sky Conference, and Nevada to the future nonconference schedule.

Weber State will travel to Corvallis for the 2015 season opener, while a two-game series with the Wolf Pack is slated to begin Sept. 16, 2017, at Reser Stadium with a road game in Reno set for Sept. 15, 2018.